Solar Learning Center
Everything we know about solar in New York, written to be useful whether or not you ever contact anyone.
Start here
How do solar panels work?
The chain from sunlight on your roof to the socket in your wall, without the jargon.
Are solar panels worth it in New York?
When the numbers work, when they do not, and the cases where we would say don't.
Do solar panels work in winter?
The first question every New Yorker asks, answered straight.
Money
What solar costs in New York
How installers build a price and which line items to question.
New York solar incentives
The state credit, NY-Sun, and both tax exemptions.
The federal tax credit
What changed at the end of 2025, and what is left.
Financing options
Cash, loan, lease and PPA, and why the comparison changed.
Net metering explained
What happens to the power you export, and what it is worth.
Working out your savings
How to do the estimate yourself, honestly.
Equipment
Best solar panels in 2026
How to read a spec sheet instead of a brand ranking.
Panel types compared
Monocrystalline, polycrystalline and thin film.
How long panels last
And which component you should expect to replace.
Solar vs generator
Two different answers to the same problem.
Questions people ask about this
No. NY Solar Finder is an independent resource operated by RBR Growth Consulting. We do not sell, install or service equipment. We earn a referral fee when we connect someone with an installer, which is how the site stays free.
Incentive and tax pages carry a verification date and are re-checked quarterly, because rules in this area changed significantly during 2025 and stale figures are common across the industry.
Yes, and they are written on that basis. If they help you get a better quote from a company you found yourself, that is a good outcome.
How to check any solar contractor
This is a new site with no customer reviews, so we are not going to show you any. What we can do is tell you exactly what to verify about whoever contacts you, and where to look it up. That applies to the installer we refer you to and to every other quote you get.
NABCEP certification
The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners is the industry standard credential for solar installers. It certifies the individual professional who holds it, not the company, so a firm advertising it may have one certified person and twenty who are not.
How to check. Ask which named individual holds it, then search that name in the directory.
Search the NABCEP directoryNYSERDA participation
Registration in the state's NY-Sun programme. This one is not a nice to have: the New York State incentive is only available through an approved contractor, so using an unregistered installer forfeits it. Some also hold the Quality Solar Installer designation, which requires at least 12 NY-Sun projects in the past year and an average of 4 out of 5 on NYSERDA's own field inspections.
How to check. Search the company name in NYSERDA's list before you sign anything.
Check NYSERDA's contractor listLicensing and insurance
Appropriate electrical licensing for the work, plus general liability and workers compensation cover. A contractor without workers compensation can leave you personally exposed if someone is injured on your roof.
How to check. Ask for certificates of insurance naming you, and check the licence with your town or county before work starts. Do not accept a policy number alone.
Local experience
Interconnection is where most New York solar timelines slip, and it is handled very differently by Con Edison, National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E and PSEG Long Island. Permitting varies again by town.
How to check. Ask how many systems they have energised on your specific utility in the past year, and for two addresses in your county you can drive past.
NY Solar Finder is operated by RBR Growth Consulting. We are not a solar installer, we hold no industry certification, and we do not guarantee the credentials of the company that contacts you. We name these standards, and link to the bodies that issue them, so that you can check that company yourself before you sign anything.
Related reading
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